The message of Traffic is loud and clear: the war on drugs is
not working. Director Steven Soderbergh lays out the facts in three related
stories that span the levels of the drug trade. The three stories complement
each other and are well acted and engrossing. This movie is long, but
the time flies by. Soderbergh (Erin
Brockovich, The Limey) does not present
any answers, he just makes things easy for everyone to see. Traffic
is based on Traffik, a British miniseries that detailed the drug
trade between Britain and Pakistan. Traffic moves the setting to
Mexico and the United States. Soderbergh uses different lens tints to
frame each story. Some people think it to help differentiate each story,
but it is more to separate each level of the drug trade.

The macro level (shot with a blue tint) involves Judge Robert Wakefield,
(Michael Douglas, Wonder Boys, One
Day in September) the newly appointed drug czar. He commutes between
his responsibilities in Washington and his family in Cincinnati. Although
this story takes place on the highest level, it is the most personal in
Stephen Gaghan's (Rules of Engagement) story. Wakefield is trying
to find new ways to attack the drug problem, but none of his associates
can 'think outside the box.' What he does not realize is that his daughter,
Caroline (Erika Christensen, Leave it to Beaver) is a heavy addict.
Actual government figures including Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and
Orrin Hatch (R-UT) give their actual views on the drug war to Wakefield
(talk about a wide spectrum of political views).

Helen Ayala's (Catherine Zeta-Jones, The Haunting,
Entrapment) husband is in jail. She just learned that the source of
their money was chiefly from the illegal drug trade. Now, she is facing
mounting debts and threats from her husband's associates, which leaves
her no choice but to turn to the drug trade herself. The star witness
against her husband is Eduardo Ruiz (Miguel Ferrer, Blank Check, Where's
Marlowe), a low-level dealer who turned in Ayala for immunity. DEA
Agents Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle, Mission
to Mars, The Family Man) and Ray
Castro (Luis Guzman, The Limey, Out of Sight)
are on the frontlines in Tijuana, and their current assignment is to watch
Ayala and guard Ruiz from any retribution.

In Tijuana, Javier Rodriguez (Benicio Del Toro, Snatch,
The Way of the Gun) is a clean cop
lost amongst rampant corruption and warring drug cartels. He is on the
fast track, but the higher he rises, the harder it is for him to resist
temptation. Tijuana scenes have a yellowish tint. Soderbergh makes sure
that in each story touches a personal note. The effect of drugs wreaks
havoc in every situation. Soderbergh uses Ruiz and Wakefield to voice
his views on the war on drugs. He believes that attacking the supply is
futile, and that cops realize this. As long as demand exists, there will
be a supply. Strong acting complements his direction. Del Toro gives the
best performance in the film. His method acting usually seems very strange,
but it is extremely effective here. Ferrer, Cheadle, Guzman, and Douglas
also give good turns. Few movies today have such an obvious agenda, and
it takes a director like Soderbergh to convey it so well. Whether or not
somebody agrees with is views is another matter entirely.